


What Defines Good?

by Miss838



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Just an idea that slipped into my mind, Loosely based on Torchwood, Terry Pratchett quote used, Violence, and I mean very loosely, loosely based on hannibal characters, what is goodness anyway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:35:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25310965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss838/pseuds/Miss838
Summary: “Impressive work my dear,” purred the blonde, strangely calm given the fact that Jack was currently aiming a gun at this forehead. “You have a great team, I admit. Such a well-coordinated group, like a clockwork. Little wheels turning and cooperating together. But what if one fails? What if there is no one to have your back?”Jack understood right away why was that son of a bitch so calm, when an edge of a razor-sharp knife appeared on his throat.“What did you do to her,” Jack snarled at him, life threatening weapon and what he believed to be a trained bodyguard behind him absolutely inconsequential.





	What Defines Good?

**Author's Note:**

> Little original work about a leader and his group. I was just thinking how so much fictional groups lack empaths or psychologists and how priceless they could be. Also I wanted to point that everyone, even the most unlikely ones, carry their inner darkess.

“So, the plan is ready,” the leader eyed his team once more. “We are doing it the hard way.”

Silent agreement from his team was everything Jack needed. Meeting was dismissed and everybody went to prepare.

Well, maybe not everybody.

“Jack? Can I have a word?” came a nervous question from his empath.

“Yeah shoot. What’s on your mind?”

“Well, I was just wondering… are you really sure about this?”

The Leader let out a sigh: “We went through it many times. You know there is no other way, we have to fight our way through quickly for this to work. It is an amazing opportunity to finally get him.”

“Of course, it is a good one, solid plan. I was just wondering about my part in it.”

“Vera, you are great with a gun and in a combat, you practiced like a thousand times. We will need every pair of hands. Coupled with your basic medical training, it would be very helpful to have you there.”

“What if I mess something up? I always do. What if I panic and someone else will pay for my mistake?”

Jack let out a small impatient sigh. They really don’t have time for this right now. “Listen: you knew what this job is about when I recruited you. I was always honest, I never said it is easy-peasy and always rainbows. Sometimes there is mess and in a couple of hours, there will be a lot of it. So I advise you to toughen up, because this will be real. Lives of your friends will be at stake. And I need you, we all need you to cover our backs. I always trusted you between this walls. Look me in the eye and tell me I can rely on you out there too.” said Jack, his eyes suddenly a shade or two darker were met by a stone-cold gaze, that doesn’t suit the pretty young face it belonged to. “Yes. You can,” simple straightforward answer, a bit surprising after the anxious questions that came before it.

“Guess I am just a bit scared. I will go and ask Alex about the gun.” After sharing this little piece of truth, the empath walked out of the door, head held high.

***

“Fine. We are in. Good job everybody, but it seems like we have to split. Gwen, Alex take the right corridor. Matt, stay here and keep the alarms out. Check the cameras and tell us if something goes south. Vera with me, we’ll take the left one.”

With that, everybody moved according to the orders. It was not easy to get all the way here. Hell no. But he managed to shield his empath and spare the girl from doing any shooting herself. So at least something went according to his plan. Sigh of relief almost escaped his lips, when he saw the hard wooden door, behind which sat the cause of all this bloodshed. Jack shot the two guards standing in front of the office, quick and precise work. Both headshots.

He took Vera’s hand and pulled her close enough to whisper:” We can do this; we are almost there. You run to the door and grab the handle. I will be right after you, checking our back. When I reach you, open the door,” he couldn’t help himself to add: “Don’t forget to lean back afterwards so I can come through.” He certainly deserved the eye roll which followed, but this was not the first time she screwed up a seemingly little detail.

Vera was brilliant, in so many ways, a priceless part of his team. She could sense the… wrongness in people, as much as pinpoint the ones telling the truth. However, what he appreciated the most, was the kindness and just a little bit of peace she brought into his team. Somehow, she always knew what to say when Matt kept unusually quiet or how to calm Alex down when he got worked up from stress. She knew when to give space and when force people to let everything out. Jack was certain that without her, they would have all gone mad already. On the other hand, she was restless. Important details easily slipped from her mind. Other times, she tended to be clumsy – tripping over stairs that she walked on thousand times, claiming she forgot they were there. Dropping papers out of the blue, looking at her hands afterwards like she had no idea what just happened. So yeah. Reminder to lean back so other person can go through the door was not exaggeration.

Following his signal, they both rushed to the door. Seconds after Vera swung the door open, he pushed her to the side with one hand (because _of course_ she stayed right in the middle of the door) and quickly checked the office for any threads. But the office seemed empty, except for a tall, blonde man sitting behind the large office desk, casually leaning back on his chair.

“Impressive work my dear,” purred the blonde, strangely calm given the fact that Jack was currently aiming a gun at this forehead. “You have a great team, I admit. Such a well-coordinated group, like a clockwork. Little wheels turning and cooperating together. But what if one fails? What if there is no one to have your back?”

Jack understood right away why was that son of a bitch so calm, when an edge of a razor-sharp knife appeared on his throat.

“What did you do to her,” Jack snarled at him, life threatening weapon and what he believed to be a trained bodyguard behind him absolutely inconsequential.

“Och, what do you thing I am, a monster? I would never harm such a terrified little girl. Actually, I am surprised you brought her with you. She made a run for it. Left you here to your own devices. You should have been pickier about your companions.”

“No. She would never. If you harmed her in any way, I swear you will die slowly and painfully.”

“You are so naïve,” laughed that fucker openly to his face. “All your friends are locked in the right wing and your only… _help_ that you brought here had run away. I think I would be the one doing the killing.” After that he stood up and walked around the desk, only to walk so close to Jack that he could almost touch him.

“You were very rude, mister. You threatened me not once, but twice. I don’t like it when I am threatened to. So I will really enjoy making you scream,” He leaned even closer, now almost touching Jack’s nose with his. “Also I send couple of my friends after your little girl. Just to ensure she would get back to us safe.”

Now he was pissed. Not only he was fucked, didn’t know what is with Gwen, Alex and Matt, but now Vera was outnumbered and alone. Great, just great. His mind was racing, assessing the handful of options he still had. He tried to struggle against the man holding him, but to no avail. He watched the blond in front of him, as he was slowly pulling on a pair of latex gloves.

“Afraid to get your hands dirty David?”

“Are we on the first name basis now, Jack? Well, it will get pretty intimate between us in a second, so I can’t see why not.”

Jack wasn’t given a chance to answer, since a punch landed, perfectly targeting his liver. God it hurt like hell. White spots started to appear in his vision and a closed fist connected with his jaw. Third was his stomach. Forth liver again. Jack didn’t really bother to count the next ones. David knew exactly what he was doing, where to strike to cause the most pain. And he didn’t stop there. He understood that causing physical pain is not the right torture. Destroy your mind, make you furious, petrified or distraught, break you completely, inside out. That was David’s speciality.

“So what about that charming little bird of yours? Never seen her before. But since your second is definitely locked on the other side of my house, and my sources claim there are two girls in your little pack, I would say she is the empath.”

Now it was a kick to his knee. Excruciating pain spread through his leg, making him release a small whimper. David’s smile only grew wider.

“Such an interesting thing. I instructed my men to bring her back, you know. So we can have a little chat. She is not particularly beautiful, but I can settle for pretty.”

“Shut your filthy mouth!” growled Jack and spit some blood on the expensive looking carpet.

He immediately regretted saying something, when he saw how pleased the other man looked.

“Little bit touchy about this particular one, aren’t we? Tell me dear, are you sleeping with her? If not, you would very much like to, I can see it in your face. However, I can’t see why yet, because as I said earlier, she is nothing special at the first glance. Maybe she is… _gifted_ in other ways. I guess I will find out soon,” David didn’t hesitate to use this new-fund pressure point, making Jack see red. Powered with pure rage, he started his struggle anew. Yet, all he managed was to get kicked in the other knee hard.

Suddenly, a woman’s scream and a grunting came from the hall. They were closely followed by another bodyguard, dragging Vera with him into the room. Blood splatters could be seen on her shirt and face, and a bruise already started to form on her cheek.

The leader felt a single tear slide down his face. Not because of his injuries, although they hurt like hell. It was that sight, of Vera in such a position, in need of help he was not able to give her.

“She took John down. Slid his throat like a pig,” reported spitefully the man holding his empath. “Quite a fighter I must say. I almost lost her just outside, had to punch her a bit. She passed out I am afraid, and I didn’t even hit her that hard, sir.”

“Ach I hoped to talk to her right now. Seems like I have to wait. Never mind, Jack here seems like he is ready for another round.”

But no such thing happened, since Vera quickly ducked down and drew a knife out of her captor’s boot and in effective spin sliced right through his abdomen. Jack immediately used this new set of events to start his struggle anew, managing to throw the man behind him off balance for a second. That was enough for Vera to stab the bodyguard right through his neck.

No longer held upright by another man, the leader collapsed to the floor, his injuries too painful to let him stand on his own.

In fact, it was not his injuries he paid attention to. It was his empath, standing straight, breathing heavily, blood covering her hands like a pair of fine gloves. Vera turned her head and looked straight into his eyes. At that moment, he knew she was different. There was no life in her beautiful eyes, even if she was not dead. Only promise of bloodshed, pain and vengeance for what she must have witnessed, for what they did to her. What they did to _him_. When she looked back at David, who was now shocked speechless, slowly backing away from her, she smiled at him. Angel of death, prepared to deliver the punishment she sees fit. Deadly. Stunning. Magnificent.

“If you have to look along the shaft of an arrow from the wrong end, if a man has you at his mercy, then hope like hell he is an evil man. Because the evil like power over people and they want to see you in fear. They want you to know you are going to die.” She was slowly approaching the blond, who already reached the wall at this point. Cornered like an animal.

“They will talk, they will gloat and put off the murder like another man will put off a good cigar. So hope like hell, your captor is an evil man. A good man will kill you with hardly a world.”

“Lovely quote. Did you come up with it on your own?” teased David, unable, however, to hide the shaking in his voice.

“No, it is from one of my favourite books.”

“Och I see. So, which one are you then?”

I was never a chatty person. But I not good either.” With that, his shy, loving and peaceful empath drove the knife right through David’s heart, blood flowing over her hands and dripping to the floor.

*************

It was late. Very late, and Jack was sitting behind the table in his office, toying with a glass of whiskey and thinking, about everything and nothing at all. His thoughts were like birds, flying around and making noise, never settling on a branch to catch their breath. Isn’t it strange, how you think you know people, and then you see the other side, dark side that you didn’t know they have. He was so blind, seeing her as a nice, simple girl, too pure for this job and this world. He would never expect such darkness, lurking behind those always calm and steady eyes. Most importantly, he didn’t know how he felt about it. Maybe he was just surprised that his empath is capable to kill just as much as the rest of his team.

A quiet knock penetrated through chirping of the birds in his head.

“Yes? Come in!” he called and set down his glass, curious who would want something in the middle of the night. Everyone should be sleeping. _He_ should be sleeping when you think about it.

“Hey,” mumbled his empath, as she slowly entered the door, eyes glued to the floor,” I was just… I thought we should… you know, everything… no, sorry to bother you, I will go, I shouldn’t have come.”

It was such a surprise for Jack seeing her here, that he didn’t realize what is happening until she was half way out the door.

“Wait! Vera stay where you are!” he said, command clear in his voice. Not that he liked to boss people around, but experience taught him that sometimes it helped. It seemed to work, as the girl stopped, still not lifting her eyes, backed into the room and quietly closed the door. Something was very wrong, Jack could tell that much. She was leaning against the door, as if seeking support. Her shoulders hunched forward, arms wrapped around herself in a protective manner and those damn eyes still inspecting every detail of his wooden floor.

“What is wrong? Did something happen?”

Jack looked at her with worry in his eyes, but no answer came. She just stared at the floor. “Vera you have to say something. I can’t read your thoughts, but I see you are… disturbed, so why don’t you tell me what is on your mind? Did something happen to others?”

She released a quiet breath. “No. Everybody is fine. They are sleeping.”

“ _You_ don’t seem fine. Are you okay?”

“No. No, I am not,” she whispered and slid down to the floor, until she was sitting, holding her knees tightly to herself, eyes closed, uneasiness screaming form her posture.

Och.

This was bad. Vera rarely confesses when she is hurting, always keeping to herself, not wanting to burden people around her with her worries. His stupid, selfless, amazing empath. Always helping others to shoulder their pain, but caring hers all alone. And yet here she is, sitting in a little ball on the floor of his office, looking like she would soon shatter into million pieces.

Jack slowly stood up and approached her, sinking into his knees in front of her. Carefully, as if talking to a scared child, he asked: “Vera, please, what is on your mind? I can’t help if I don’t know what is it that I am helping with.”

Not that he has absolutely no idea what was going on. He was there, hell he was just thinking about it himself. However, he wanted to know what she has to say about it.

Finally, she opened her eyes and lifted her gaze. When blue-green met hazel, Jack almost backed away when he saw the vulnerability and pure exhaustion, absolute resignation looking back at him. It was the lack of will to fight, to live even, that made him raise his hand and gently stroke her hair. Vera openly melted into his touch, far beyond any shyness at this point.

“You know why I am here. You saw me. For the first time, you truly saw the evil inside,” she finally blurted out, eyes locked in the blues in front of her, unable to look away.

“You are not evil, Vera. We all took a life at some point. You are not different from the rest of the team in that. It is never nice, but we have to learn to live with that. Sometimes, we have to do bad things to get good results.“

“I know that. Believe me, I do. It is not that I feel so ashamed for,” she said quietly, closing her eyes.

“Than what is it? What is wrong?”

“You would not understand.”

“Then explain, try to make me understand.”

“You would despise me If I told you.”

“Why don’t you let me decide that?”

At that, hazel again met blue. And Jack finally got his answer.

The thing is that... I am not sorry. I am not bothered. I took a life, three of them actually. And I don’t feel… anything. I should feel sorry; I should mourn them. But the truth is that I don’t. When I killed David, I looked straight into his eyes. He was terrified. Maybe of me, maybe of death, I have no way of knowing. And then after I stabbed him, I watched the life leave his eyes. I was not scared, nor was I disgusted at what I did. You know what I felt Jack? You want the know what was the only thing I had in mind when a man was dying in my hands? I was fascinated by how enthralling it was to watch. There you have it. That is the truth.”

He was always very sensible man. Even in the most surprising and downright crazy situations, he always knew what to do. Now, after this confession, he was simply flabbergasted. Absolutely speechless. What can you possibly say to a speech like this?

“So? What now? I should go and gather my stuff, I suppose. I will leave before anyone wakes up, that should give you couple of hours to decide whether to tell others the truth or make something up.” 

“Where would you go? Do you have a place to stay?” asked Jack, slight curiosity in his voice.

Vera didn’t seem surprised by his question, however, he didn’t miss the slight change in her tone when she answered: “I thought I could stay in a motel until I find some small place to rent.”

“Do you want to leave?”

Surprise flashed across Vera’s face.

“I… What do you mean?”

“What I just asked. Do you want to live? And I expect nothing but truthful answer.”

“No, of course not.”

“Then don’t. Stay with us,” _with me_ , he wanted to add.

“But… You still want me here? After what I just said to you?”

“I will always want you here. No matter what happens. You are part of my team. Vera, you are like family to me. Regarding your… confession, that I have to let go through my head. But I can safely say right now that I don’t despise you.”

He could say she didn’t believe a world he said from the way she looked at him. So he took her hand and added: “I am serious, Vera. I don’t think of you any less than I did before you told me.”

“You should.” Was a quiet reaction.

The leader couldn’t help himself but to smile a little. “Always telling me what I should think. When you will let me decide how I fell about you?” He let his guards drop a little and pressed quick kiss on her cheek. “Go and get a bit of sleep. We will talk more later if you want to. Just don’t run away during the night, okay?”

“Fine. But get some sleep yourself or I will,” answered his empath, with a hint of smile on her lips and a much more peace in her posture than when she first came to his office that night. A peace that he managed to put there. Seems like it wasn’t such a miserable night after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! If you liked this story, leave kudos. I will greatly appreciate any constructive criticism. If you found any mistakes or wrong wording, feel free to correct me in the comments, I am not a native speaker. I may write a thing or two about this group in the future, I feel quite good about them, but only if you seem to like it. :3


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